Hello 
Our tenant has given notice to leave at the end of their 12 month tenancy. At the beginning of the tenancy, the flat was newly refurbished - new kitchen, bathroom, tiling, flooring, fully redecorated etc. including new made-to-measure venetian blinds in all the windows.
A few months ago, I was in the flat for something unrelated and noticed that there was a burn mark on the underside of the bottom rung of one of the blinds (the bottom rung is different to the slats). I didn’t bring it up, because I didn’t want to seem intrusive (they’d given me access as a favour for an insurance valuation) and the mid-term inspection was coming up, so it would presumably be picked up then.
In the inspection (done by a third party), the bottom rung was missing all together from that blind, along with another. But there was a candlestick holder on the windowsill - mystery solved!
I’m wondering how I go about deducting an appropriate amount from the deposit when they leave. They have (I assume) burned the blinds not once, but twice. This is annoying, but I’m more annoyed by the attempt at deception by removing the bottom rung from the blinds altogether for the inspection. The blinds were brand new, I don’t think this can be considered fair wear and tear. But I don’t think they’re going to agree to pay for replacing them, and that seems very wasteful. I’ve looked online for replacement parts, but haven’t found anything suitable.
Any advice greatly appreciated. I’m trying to sort myself out now, in advance, to avoid any disagreements once they leave. Thanks!